It is trite that the primary function of government is to ensure the maintenance of law and order in the society. The judiciary is the primary institution saddled with responsibility to interpret and determine whether provisions of law have been disobeyed or not. Section 6(1) of The 1999 Constitution of the Federal republic of Nigeria (as amended 2011) provides:
“The judicial powers of the Federation shall be vested in the courts to which this section relates, being courts established for the Federation.”
The executive arm is expected by law to put in place machinery that will ensure seamless enforcement of courts’ order ipso facto judgment of the courts. Orders of court must be complied with in order to prevent anarchy in the society. The importance of adhering to order of court is so fundamental to the development and sustenance of any modern day society. No matter how dissatisfactory, court orders must be complied with for the fight against corruption to be fair and square. It was held in PAN AFRICAN BANK v. STATE [1997] 4 NWLR page 296 PAGE 304, PARAGRAPH D-E
“A confession is an admission made at any time by a person charged with crime, stating or suggesting the inference that he committed that crime.”
Section 28, of the EVIDENCE ACT (E.A), 2011.
There are instances where a suspect in a criminal investigation volunteers to make a statement before, during or after interrogation by the police. Such statement being volunteered is known as Confessional Statement. This type of confession is otherwise known as extra-judicial confession because it was made prior to arraignment before a judge or magistrate. For it to be admitted as evidence of admission for commission of a crime by the court, it should be a voluntary and unsolicited act on the part of a suspect. Section 29(1)-(3) of the E.A forbids the admissibility of a confessional statement if made under coercion, oppression, deception, inducement by person in position of authority.
Arrest is essentially the restriction of a person’s right to personal liberty It is the taking or keeping of a person in custody by legal authority, especially in response to a criminal charge; specifically, the apprehension of someone for the purpose of securing the administration of the law, especially of bringing that person before a court. Detention is the act or fact of holding a person in custody; confinement or compulsory delay. It can also be defined as the act of keeping the arrested person in custody or confinement thereby seizing the person’s liberty.
REPORT ON A 2 DAY WORKSHOP BY JURITURST CENTRE ON PRE-TRIAL ISSUES AND THE EFFECTIVE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE ADMINISTRATION OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE ACT FOR FCT MAGISTRATES HELD ON 21-22, JUNE, 2021 AT THE AYALLA HOTEL, AREA 11, GARKI, ABUJA-FCT
The Juritrust Centre for Socio-Legal Research and Documentation (Juritrust) with the support of John D. and Catherine J. Mac Arthur Foundation organised a 2 day Workshops for Magistrates and prosecutors on the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015 and complimentary Anti-Corruption Law.
Supervision of police powers of arrest and detention is an important means by which the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015 protects the rights of suspects and curbs arbitrary police powers and reduces decongestion of the courts and detention centres. Magistrates are by virtue of section 34 (1-3) and judges of the High court by virtue of section 34(4) are entrusted with these supervisory powers of visiting and inspecting detention centres in order to checkmate police excesses.
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